Lawler: D.R. Horton: Orders Up Modestly, Margins Down a Bit on Rising Costs

CR Note: In a short note on D.R. Horton today, economist Tom Lawler included a table of some selected home builders (below). This shows some increase in Q3 for these builders compared to last year, but last year was the worst year ever. And net home orders in Q3 were still 20.9% below Q3 2009, and that was a horrible year!

From Tom Lawler:

D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest home builder, reported that net home orders totaled 4,241 in the quarter ended September 30th, up 6.5% from the comparable quarter of 2010, though down 15.3% from the comparable quarter of 2009. The company’s sales cancellation rate, expressed as a % of gross orders, was 29%, down from 31% a year ago. Home deliveries totaled 4,987 last quarter, up 16.5% from the comparable quarter of last year. The company’s order backlog at the end of September was 4,854, up 17.5% from last September. The company’s margins fell a little south of “consensus,” apparently reflecting rising input costs that can’t be passed through in today’s “challenging conditions.”

Net Home Orders, Select Publicly-Traded Builders
Quarter Ended:	9/30/2011	9/30/2010	9/30/2009
D.R. Horton	4,241	3,979	5,008
PulteGroup	3,564	3,566	5,403
NVR	2,218	2,151	2,255
The Ryland Group	1,008	799	1,270
Meritage Homes	906	706	1,098
MDC Holdings	595	796	1,016
Standard Pacific	764	555	893
M/I Homes	587	489	619
Total	13,883	13,041	17,562
	2011 vs 2010	2011 vs. 2009
	6.5%	-20.9%